How to start playing Metal ( guitar)

[DeadlySinners]

Wow.
Dudes.
Remember this guy is just a beginner.
He just started...
You guys are probobly melting his fucking brain.
He doesnt need to worry about scales and modes yet.
Give him a break guys.
Keep to the subject.
Lets just tell him some easy stuff to play so he can progress.
Plus.
The best advice to him i've seen yet
Is about getting a good teacher.

 

[Earache]

Agreed ^ - Everyone will have their opinions about the importance of theory. The way I see it, anything you learn on your own is just rediscovering something that a good teacher (or a friend who already plays) can show you, but nothing you're told is "learned" until you practice it enough to own it.

Being a musician is an act of life long learning. Set your own pace, and have fun. The first thing to learn is how to learn. Find a program that can slow down the music without changing the pitch. You can do this with most recording programs but there are others made just for this task.

 

[MasterT44]

Okay, what I meant was like... What's the use of "scales". Why is it practical in music? Do the notes just sound well together?

If you learn your scales, writing riffs/licks/songs in X key becomes 50 times easier.

 

[BlackMetalWhiteGuy]

If you learn your scales, writing riffs/licks/songs in X key becomes 50 times easier.

More specifically, most scales have specific feelings / emotions associated with them. Major keys are usually fairly happy, or triumphant, minor keys are more melancholy, and phrygian scales can be more aggressive, or ethnic sounding. Diminished scales also have a very distinct sound, and mixolydian mode kind of sounds folkish / celtic to me. Chromatics often convey a sense of mental disillusion, such as being high, or hallucinating.

EDIT: This isn't to say that any one characteristic is exclusively associated with one type of scale, either. I've written some pretty epic / folkish sounding minor scale riffs, too, I'm just trying to be as general as possible.

EDIT 2: And for those reading this thread who aren't familiar with the relationship between keys and scales, key refers to the root note and scale refers to the sequence of intervals from that point onward. In A minor, A refers to the key, because it's the first note of the scale, and the scale being used is minor. You can begin the scale from any note, and as long as you're still using the same scale, the sequence of intervals between notes will always be the same, just starting from a different root note (A minor, B minor, etc.).

 

[Boorad]

I suggest learning some Burzum,Mayhem or Celtic Frost. Songs like Lost wisdom, war, and the Crying orc by Burzum. Chainsaw gutsfuck, freezing moon, pure fucking armageddon by Mayhem. The usurper by Celtic frost, if you wanna sound cool with minimal effort.

then move up to Maiden, to get the easy solos, and then Sepultura or Death.

The main riff for the philosopher by death is easy as fuck and so brutal.

 

[Boorad]

Also i suggest learning the pentatonic scale. must have for any form of music. easy and sounds great.

 

[BlackMetalWhiteGuy]

Also i suggest learning the pentatonic scale. must have for any form of music. easy and sounds great.

What do you mean THE pentatonic scale? Are you some how under the impression that there's only one?

 

[DeadlySinners]

What do you mean THE pentatonic scale? Are you some how under the impression that there's only one?

Haha, im pretty sure he meant scale"S" he just forgot the s. or maybe your right, maybe he did forget. By the way though, i agree that the pentatonic scale"S" are a very fun and easy thing to learn.

 

[tagradh]

Fuck pentatonic. C# Hungarian Minor fortehwin. ;o

 

[Boorad]

Scales... Sorry. lol

 

[-J-]

start off learning simple songs you like (probably in standard tuning). not the whole tune necessarily, just the main riffs that are easy to learn and you can master with ease. don't waste time right now with stuff you can't play. augment that with some simple scale practices. get some technique down first, don't get hung up on what everything means. get stuff down like alternate picking, being able to play without hitting extra strings, etc. learn to play clean without distortion, and you'll be golden with distortion.

spend time just doodling too. making things up, even if it's 3 or 4 notes. if you like a melody you made up RECORD IT somehow. record everything you like that you made up. it's your database to pull ideas from for the rest of your life. nothing worse than a cool riff you forget the next day.

also, play with anyone you can. even if they suck or you suck. the key there is there's always something to learn from jamming with someone else. and usually it's more valuable than any CD, DVD, or my stupid comments.

 

[BlackMetalWhiteGuy]

Haha, sorry about the confusion guys

Fuck pentatonic. C# Hungarian Minor fortehwin. ;o

I'm kind of on the same page. I think pentatonic scales are tonally unexpressive and they are very generic sounding as well. This may be because my old roommate used to play Metallica solos almost non-stop, but whatever the reason, I'm more into harmonic minor modes

learn to play clean without distortion, and you'll be golden with distortion.

I've heard this from so many sources, but I'm still skeptical. I've found that playing with distortion gets me in better practice for playing clean, because my A string will sometimes start ringing even when I don't touch it. This is barely noticable when I'm playing clean or unplugged, but with distortion, it can create some terrible dissonance.

 

[Mr. Nekrophetamine]

I've had a guitar for four years now. Honestly I've been seriously playing for about two. I took two guitar classes at school, very helpful... but generally pretty self taught. I didn't really get into more scales, and I definitely skipped over arpeggios.

I haven't played in a year as of right now... looking to really dedicate to it again. So do you guys know of any websites or articles that give good advice on playing metal?


...as a little advice, I recommend starting out with an acoustic guitair. You don't get as lazy because distortion won't cover your mistakes, and with a wider neck and fretboards, seems like your fingers get a better workout. Its also a lot cheaper than getting an electric guitar and amp together. I recommend listening to some prog bands and playing some of their songs, or at least a few riffs... such as Dream Theater or Opeth. You won't exactly be rocking out all the time, but you can take it with you anywhere and impress chicks.

 

[infoterror]

So how do i start playing Metal ?

Tautological question. Play the songs your heroes wrote, and then get a metronome and practice playing in time. After that, come back here, and if you wave your cock and a wad of cocaine around you'll find internut band members.

 

[intestinesofwar]

Learning to play by ear.

exactly.

 

[Vacant_Planets]

Eh, no he'll not learn the mechanics that are nessacary early if he learns to play by ear. Learning to play by ear is however never nessacary unless he plans to cover songs his entire life.

 

[intestinesofwar]

Learning to play by ear is however never nessacary unless he plans to cover songs his entire life.

lies. learning by ear is really helpful if you're in a band and you need to learn songs other members write.

and it proves you kick ass.

 

[Vacant_Planets]

OTher menebers can write it down, as I've written it down for my band members over the past 15 years. As they also do for me if it's them writting the song.

 

[intestinesofwar]

shut up learning by ear kicks ass.

 

[BlackMetalWhiteGuy]

Learning to play by ear is a respectable talent, but for the purposes of writing originals, it isn't a necessity. Also, as Vacant Planets has pointed out though, it's highly unlikely that anyone would actually be able to establish a significant base knowledge of theory when ONLY by playing by ear.